DIY Off-Grid storage

nivek

As Above So Below
There's also a Powerjack for increased energy needs...

Tesla Powerpack is the company's utility-scale rechargeable battery, designed to store energy for off-grid and supplemental power systems, including large facilities and the electric grid. Like Powerwall, Tesla's battery for home and small business use, Powerpack is based on lithium ion battery technology.

What is Tesla Powerpack? - Definition from WhatIs.com

 

spacecase0

earth human
my third favorite is lithium iron phosphate batteries, the correct ones will last 4 times longer than lithium ion batteries, and they cost about the same amount.
I have a set to run my home lighting, they are charged by solar. (12V system, 20AH)
 

3FEL9

Islander
my third favorite is lithium iron phosphate batteries, the correct ones will last 4 times longer than lithium ion batteries, and they cost about the same amount.
I have a set to run my home lighting, they are charged by solar. (12V system, 20AH)

How many hrs of sun per day do you have ?
 

3FEL9

Islander
in the summer it is about 14,
in the winter it is about 10, but winter it might be overcast.

Here it is bit more x-treme:

Shortest day during winter is about 6 hrs of sun
Longest day summertime 18.5 hrs

But its often overcast...

If you live in a house or have your own land, you should be able to harvest a lot of power where you are at.

Prices comming down on panels and systems.. Payback times are shortening... from the typical 10 yrs
 

spacecase0

earth human
my system has one 100W panel, a row of AGM batteries, and a small charge controller.
it is enough to run my lights, my shortwave transceiver, and charge my phones/tablets.
I have a direct solar run music player that I setup, so I don't need batteries for it.
almost forgot, I have a tiny refrigerated box I built that will run nicely from my solar power system.
I could connect off the computer to it and run it, but usually do not as the inverter fan makes noise
not sure if it will run my clothes washer or not, but kind of a moot point because it will not run my will pump.
if I can get the well pump running on solar, I really don't have other needs for electricity.
direct solar run well pump and gravity feed seem like the best solution (no batteries to wear out), but will have to wait to get 3K$ extra (I assume this will take years)

suppose I could set up a system to get way more power, but no real point,
electricity has been so pricy for so long, I just quit using most of it.
 

spacecase0

earth human
Are you licensed ?

I have a portable 50 watt camo style folding panel.. It can power my tablet, phone + charge a small battery

And my Baofeng UV-5R lol
yes. for a long time now.

charging your handheld radio from solar is very handy. likely more handy than the tablet or phone.
I can charge all my daily use handheld radios on my solar.
my solar power setup came from me going on a radio contest once a year. (why I bothered getting it all in the first place)
I use power pole connectors on everything and it all comes apart and packs up in my car easy.
when I could, (after I was done renting in life), I just installed it at home.
I also did a backpack version
spacecase0.com: HF backpack radio

your folding panel is likely way more handy than what I have
 

3FEL9

Islander

I really like your HF/VHF/UHF backpack system. With that setup you could go outside and talk to other operators all over the world. And 33 pounds is about 15 kgs so thats also a very good workout if you hike a couple of miles from home.

The only thing I would change, is to replace the heavy lead acid battery into a lighter more powerdense lithium type battery..

I had few digital contacts with US stations on the westcoast,, But I cant make it to you guys on phone lol
 
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spacecase0

earth human
I really like your HF/VHF/UHF backpack system. With that setup you could go outside and talk to other operators all over the world. And 33 pounds is about 15 kgs so thats also a very good workout if you hike a couple of miles from home.

The only thing I would change, is to replace the heavy lead acid battery into a lighter more powerdense lithium type battery..

I had few digital contacts with US stations on the westcoast,, But I cant make it to you guys on phone lol
it has been a long time from when I posted that, I already replaced the lead acid battery with a lithium iron phosphate battery.
unlike the "Musk Li-Ion battery pack", lithium iron phosphate batteries will not light on fire. (they also last 4 times longer at the same price as Li-ion)
I also now have a portable low powered PSK31 modem NUE-PSK Digital Modem
so I can do digital mobile as well

lots of designing a solar power setup is getting rid of standby drain and getting higher efficiency.
so many people don't bother with those 2 things. and it is why they end up having to spend way more money than they need to for the same result.
 

3FEL9

Islander
I suppose this topic is about battery.
I don't know much about battery.

Well, study and learn. Then you can start up your own company in Malaysia and installing green power everywhere there.
You got plenty sun so. Better place for solar is hard to find.. And a lot of panels are actually made in your country..

You will be the CEO, some electricians and installers will do the tech and manual labour for u, lol
 

Diva

Honorable
Well, study and learn. Then you can start up your own company in Malaysia and installing green power everywhere there.
You got plenty sun so. Better place for solar is hard to find.. And a lot of panels are actually made in your country..

You will be the CEO, some electricians and installers will do the tech and manual labour for u, lol

Thanks, sounds like a good idea.
I hardly see people using solar panels here.
 
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